Consumers develop preferences for particular types of food based upon texture, i.e., the tactile experience caused by the food in their mouth in conjunction with the food's distinct physical and chemical characteristics. Fried battered and breaded foods are extremely popular, in good measure because of their crisp texture and their typically golden brown appearance. Indeed, the organoleptic desirability of many fried foods could be significantly improved if enhanced crispiness and golden brown appearance were obtained without overcooking the food or unduly increasing its uptake of oil by frying for extended periods. Additionally, since there is some loss of volatile flavor components during frying, the flavor of fried foods could be further enhanced by minimizing such losses.
When it comes to fried battered and breaded foods, there is another important consideration: consumers are becoming increasingly health-conscious. They are turning more and more to foods which are high in nutritional value and low in fat and in caloric content. Fried foods, which are typically high in both fat and calories, may derive up to 50% or more of their calories from fat absorbed during frying. To many health-conscious consumers, fried battered and breaded foods therefore are not considered an acceptable part of the daily diet. In order to satisfy such consumers, a balance must be achieved between supplying fried foods with the preferred crispiness and golden brown appearance while controlling the fat and caloric content of such foods.
This problem has been addressed in the prior art, albeit inadequately. U.S. Pat. No. 4,518,620 to Monagle, et al., which issued May 21, 1985, discloses a process for preparing baked breaded foods in which an overcoating of an egg white solution which is applied to increase the integrity and adhesion of the breading also serves as a barrier to fat absorption. Unfortunately, the final food product is tough or soggy, and therefore organoleptically undesirable.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,573 to Meyers, et al., which issued Feb. 13, 1990, relates to a coating composition for inhibiting oil absorption of food products. Although the coating composition reduces fat absorption, unfortunately it also produces a soggy texture and hence a significant loss of organoleptic appeal.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,935,251 to Vorhoef describes a process for preparing fried expanded dough pieces (e.g. croutons) with reduced oil penetration on frying which remain crispy when exposed to high temperature liquids such as soup. The process includes coating the expanded dough pieces with a thermosetting film forming material and then treating in the presence of oil to produce a moisture film around the dough pieces. This patent contains no teaching regarding either fried battered and breaded foods or substrates other than expanded dough pieces.
Finally, commercially fried foods are expensive due, at least in part, to the oil which is absorbed and therefore spent in conventional frying processes. Furthermore, when battered and breaded substrates are fried, batter and breading which comes off into the frying oil will shorten its shelf-life. Since oil is relatively costly, reducing the amount required in frying and extending its shelf-life are economically appealing.
Therefore, it would be highly desirable to develop a new process for providing fried battered and breaded food products with enhanced crispiness and golden brown color in which fat, caloric content and loss of volatile flavor components are controlled and in which the shelf life of the frying medium is increased by reducing fall-off of batter and breading in the frying process.